There is a lot of admin involved when someone dies. Along with grieving your lost loved one, you need to notify an awful lot of people about the death. While, of course you need to notify friends, family, and people close to the deceased, you will also need to register the death and make notifications to government agencies and companies. Here’s a handy list to help you get started.

Who Do I Need to Notify of the Death?

For the sake of this article, we will focus on the official notifications rather than notifying people close to the deceased. You will need to notify the following people:

• Banks and lenders (including mortgage lender)
• Insurance companies
• Investment companies
• Landlord (if they rent)
• Utilities companies
• Passport office
• The DVLA and car insurance policy
• The Department of Work and Pension
• HM Revenue and Customs
• Any government departments providing benefits
• Healthcare providers

There are a number of ways to make this easier. For example, the government has a “Tell Us Once” service that updates all government departments in one go.

You can also register with the Bereavement Register that will remove the deceased’s name and address from marketing lists to ensure you do not receive regular post from them. This can take up to 6 weeks to update all of the marketing lists.

How to Register a Death 

In the UK, you need to register the death within 5 days in most of the UK, in Scotland, it is 8 days. You need to contact the Register Office in your area and provide them with information and documents. In return, you will get a Certificate of Registration of Death and Certificate of Burial or Cremation. At this point, you can buy additional copies of the Death Certificate. This is recommended as many of the notifications may need Death Certificates, like the financial institutions and government departments.

The Register Office will need the following information for the deceased:

• Date of birth
• Place of birth 
• Full name and any previous names
• Last address
• Benefits they were receiving
• Occupation
• The name, occupation, and date of birth of surviving civil partners or spouses

They may also need documentation such as:

• Proof of ID (driver’s license and/or passport)
• Proof of address (utility bill)
• NHS card
• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate / Civil partnership certificate
• Council Tax bill

If you do not have access to any of these things, then call the Register Office to ask what they want you to do.

In most cases, the person who registers the death is a relative, but a friend, family member, or professional may register the death.